Kimi Raikkonen says the issues with the soft tyre in practice for the Chinese Grand Prix are nothing new and won't change the approach to Sunday's race.

A number of drivers voiced their concerns with the soft tyre after Friday practice, with Felipe Massa saying his Ferrari was completely different on each compound and Lewis Hamilton questioning whether the soft was the right choice by Pirelli. Raikkonen, however, said that the only difference from other race weekends was the difference in lap time gains.

"[The soft] seems to have more grip on it so I think some teams improve a lot, some teams not so much," Raikkonen said. "That's how it's been the whole year; some cars benefit on some tyres and some on others.

"I think it's normal in the race. You try to push on lap one. Everyone always says "Oh you have to take it easy", but you never see that happen in the race. If you have a big gap then you can take it more easy, but usually you push on the first laps because that's when you can gain places most easily."

Raikkonen was also pleased with the progress made by Lotus on Friday and expects it to make further steps ahead of qualifying.

"If you look at the lap time it's reasonably good. I think we learned some things and confirmed some things that we had doubts about, so a pretty normal Friday. I haven't even looked what the others have done. I think for sure we can improve and we know how to improve so it is what it is right now."

The International Rugby Board (IRB) have stripped Australia of the right to host a round of the World Sevens Series, scheduled for Brisbane on 16-17 February, after the Australian government's refusal to provide visas for the squad from Fiji